Vikings resting up after forfeit win

October 10, 2013

Last week, injuries forced the Posen football team to concede a game to Engadine at home.

Now the Vikings will have some extra time to heal up and prepare for the rest of the season.

Posen was scheduled to play Brimley at home on Friday, but Brimley is also battling through injuries and forfeited the game earlier this week,

"It definitely comes at a good time. We were looking at rearranging positions to make our offense and defense work," Posen coach Wayne Karsten said.

Posen (4-3) is supposed to travel to Brimley next Friday, but as of now that game is also in jeopardy. Karsten said Brimley will decide early next week whether it has enough healthy players to play the game.

The possibility of two wins by forfeit could go a long way in helping the Vikings make the playoffs. As of Thursday, Posen is 13th in the 8-man playoff point standings and the top 16 teams qualify for the postseason. But the downside to a long break is the possibility that Posen might not play for nearly three weeks before the season finale at Owendale-Gagetown. The Bulldogs are one of five undefeated 8-man teams and Karsten hopes Brimley is ready to play next Friday.

"You definitely want to have some game experience. Hopefully Brimley will be ready to play," Karsten said.

In the meantime, Posen will use its time off to heal injuries to some key players. Brandon Dietz left Friday's game with an ankle injury and will have it examined soon. Center Kyle Kopf and backup quarterback Travis Sharpe were also knocked out of the game. Karsten said Posen could have suited up 14 of the 16 players on its roster if Brimley was able to play.

Even with time to rest up, some of Posen's starters might still be nursing some bumps and bruises when the Vikings take the field again. Karsten pointed to senior running back Nick Hincka as an example. Hincka has taken his fair share of hits while leading the area in carries (140) and rushing yards (1,130) and played through some pain last week.

"Nick doesn't look for credit. He just wants to win games. He leads by example and goes out there and plays hard," Karsten said.

James Andersen can be reached via email at sports@thealpenanews.com or by phone at 358-5694. Follow James on Twitter @ja_alpenanews.